Duties

Summary

This position is located at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), Smithsonian Institution. The employee is responsible for overseeing and coordinating a comprehensive SERC safety and occupational health program.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As the Safety & Occupational Health Specialist, the incumbent would perform the following duties:

• Provides technical advice on the management of the safety program for staff, visitors, volunteers, and students at a biological and chemical laboratory and outdoor science research complex.
  
• Conducts inspections periodically and at random to ensure compliance with the various aspects of chemical laboratory and hazardous materials safety, fire safety, electrical safety, outdoor hazard safety, office building safety, and maintenance operation safety to determine service ability.
  
• Notifies supervisors on the findings of scheduled or unscheduled inspections, citing appropriate standards, regulations, laws, guidelines, etc., and including informational and action memoranda regarding discrepancies, safety and health programs and other related activities.
  
• Provides training, assistance and encouragement to resolve hazards encountered by reviewing hazards and violations noted and advises supervisors of obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Smithsonian and SERC criteria and regulations..
  
• Consistently articulates safety and health practices to advance the accident prevention program.
  

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
11

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on the web at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. For this position Specialized experience is defined as identifying and evaluating risk potential involving a variety of environments and occupations using a knowledge of safety and occupational health management principles, practices and procedures and the wide range of laws and regulations; promoting safety programs and principles in a variety of environments to a variety of employee and visitor groups; assessing new procedures to identify and control hazardous operations, conditions and equipment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Or Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or LL.M. in other related fields that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours of study from among the following (or closely related) disciplines: safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, toxicology, public health, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological sciences, engineering, and industrial psychology.

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards . Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Education

Please review Education Requirements listed under Qualifications Tab.

Additional information

Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/
Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp
Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp
Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp
Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com
Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your resume will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training that address the competencies below:

Knowledge of and ability to plan, direct and manage a safety and occupational health program for a biological and chemical laboratory and outdoor research facility.

Ability to inspect, evaluate, and apply safety and occupational health standards as it relates to a biological and chemical laboratory and outdoor research facility (or similar).

Knowledge of and Occupational Health and Safety Act and ability to provide training, assistance and consistent communication to diverse staff and students on safety and occupational health and hazards for a biological and chemical laboratory and outdoor research facility (or similar).

Ability to present safety and occupational health information to management.

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:

• Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above.
• Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above.
• Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree.

This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.

Important Note:

The review of your resume will determine your final rating and should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

Your application package should include the following documents:

• Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. If you want to receive full credit for relevant experience your resume MUST contain the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), duties, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary.
  
  USAJOBS has guidance on how to ensure that you submit a complete resume: If you have not written a Federal resume before, you may watch this Resume Writing Tutorial video on the USAJOBS YouTube channel , or read through a helpful Resume Writing FAQ article on the USAJOBS Help Site to learn what details you should, and should not, include in your resume. If any of the above information is not included in your resume we may not be able to fully credit you for your experience.
  
• Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter.
• Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
• Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.